Display rack



e. L. PARKHURST ,0 1,933

DISPLAY RACK Aug. 31, 1937.

' Filed Sept. 28, 1936 j X/O ZXM Patented Aug. 31, 1937 I UNITED 2,091,933 DISPLAY RACK George L.

ration of Indiana Parkhurst, Chicago, 111., assignor to Standard Oil Company,

Chicago, Ill., a corpo- Application September 213, i936, Serial No. 102,856

1 Claim. This invention relates to a double display rack of the folding type for oil cans or the like Such racks are useful for displaying cans of oil at service stations or for displaying other packages.

A larity to the display rack of my invention is shown in Moeckel Patent 1,955,509. However, this stand is relatively expensive to construct and lacks the desired sturdiness.

Objects of my invention are to provide a double display rack of the folding type which is inexpensive and sturdy and which has a minimum number. of movable parts.

My invention will be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and which shows one specific embodiment of my invention. It will be understood, however, that this embodiment merely illustrates my invention and various features' can be modified without departing from the scope of the appended claim. In the draw- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rack constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the rackof Figure 1 in condition for shipment or storage;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of this same rack in condition for use;

Figure 4 is a detail taken at 1; and

Figure 5 is a detail taken at 55' in Figure 3.

My display rack has two sloping sides, one of which comprises a pair of parallel legs H and the other of which comprises a second pair of parallel legs l2. The legs are made of angle iron with the flanges extending towards adjacent legs.

4-4 in Figure One leg of each pair is connected to one legof the other pair by a pivot l3 at the'top. A top member M, which in the form shown serves as a sign carrier, braces the sloping sides at the top. This top member is carried by one pair of legs and is preferably welded in place. One or both pairs of legs are offset at their tops so that when the rack is folded at least the lower portions of the two sloping sides will be parallel and. adjacent but slightly separated from each other as shown in Figure 2.

of jack-knife construction as shown but which may be connecting chains or other devices, hold the two sloping sides in fixed positions with 'respect to each other when the rack is in condition display stand having some points of simi- Connecting members l5, which are preferably for use. The legs ii and connecting members i5 form an A-frame at either end of the rack.

Each of the sloping sides carries a plurality of angle iron cross-members it. These are rigidly afiixed-tothe legs as shown, preferably by 5 welding. The cross-members are horizontal and have flat surfaces H at right angles to the planes of the flanges of the angle iron legs. These cross-members serve as supports for the bottoms of oil cans or' other packages as shown in Figure 1 3. The rack of this figure is specifically designed for one row of cylindrical five gallon cans and two rows of cylindrical one gallon cans on each sloping side. v

The inwardly disposed portions of the cans are 15 supported by U-shaped members made of strap metal, one U-shaped member being provided for each cross-member or, in other words, for each row of cans. The U-shaped members have two short arms i8 attached to the legs and extending 20 inwardly towards the opposite sloping side at right angles to the legs to which they are amxed. The short arms are integral with a connecting long portion l9.

In the past these U pivotally connected to the legs, and have been constructed and arranged to fold into position adjacent the legs. However, I have found this multitude of movable parts to be highly unsatisfactory. I therefore weld the short arms of the 80 U-shaped members tothe legs as shown in Figure 4. This gives much greater rigidity and sturdiness to the structure and markedly reduces the cost.

Symmetry is very much desired in a display of this kind and it is therefore highly desirable to have the corresponding rows of cans at the same height on opposite sloping sides. This means that the corresponding cross-members must be at the same height. However, rigidly affixed U-shaped 40 members at the same height on opposite sloping sides prevent folding of the rack since they hit and interfere with each other. It was, presumably, for this reason that the priorpatentee, Moeckel, went to the expensive and unsatisfactory expedient of folding U-shaped members.-

I overcome this difliculty and achieve a sturdy, inexpensive structure with a minimum number of movable parts by rigidly afllxing my U-shaped members to the legs and vertically staggering the U-shaped members on opposite sloping sides so "that the rack can be folded into a compact structure for shipment or storage. If the U-s'h'aped members on opposite sloping sides are positioned an inch or two apart vertically when the rack is -shaped members have been 25 v ally connected at the top thereof, means for hold-- ing said sides in fixed position with respect to each other when said rack is in condition for use, a plurality of rigid cross-members connecting the legs forming each of said sides at a plurality of heights, the cross-members on each of said sides being located at substantially the same heights as the corresponding cross-members on the other of said sides, said cross-members serving as supports for a plurality of cans or the like on each of said sides, a rigid U-shaped member corresponding to each of said cross-members located above the corresponding cross-member in fixed relation thereto, each U-shaped member comprising two inwardly extending arms, one of which is rigidly and immovably aflixed to one of said legs and the other of which is rigidly and immovably afllxed to the other leg of the same side, each of said U-shaped members serving as a back support for the cans or the like resting on the corresponding cross-member, the respective U-shaped members on one of said sides being located at slightly diflerent'heights as compared with the corresponding U -shaped members on the other side, whereby rows of cans or the like can be supported on each side of said rack in a symmetrical manner when said rack is in condition for use, and whereby said rack can be collapsed by folding the adjacent sides together without interference between the U-shaped members on the respective opposite sides.

GEORGE L. PARKHURST. 

